


8e gre8r.

by bellclips



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Multi, alternative universe, superhero au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-10
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:40:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26385781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bellclips/pseuds/bellclips
Summary: superhero (specifically spiderman) au! currently a wip.updated (hopefully) every friday.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> been tweeting about this au on my twitter @tankrole if you'd like to see some more upd8s!

There’s a figure at the top of a skyscraper, her form hidden by the sunlight, shrouded almost entirely in shadow from below. And then, after it rocks back and forth for a second, the figure leaps, plummeting down to the Earth below. An arm extends out, a wrist flicks, and the plummet turns into a smooth swing, a blue arc that cuts through the spaces between the buildings.

Someone will claim to the convenience store owner below them that they swear they heard the blue blur laugh, high and carefree.

They’ll be right, of course, but the only one who can confirm that is the blur herself.

Her body extends, flowing with her movement, and Vriska feels her chest rise, the breath in her lungs flowing out of her as she reaches the apex of her swing, the sounds of New York below her, horns honking, people talking, the city practically _breathing_ with her. She feels like she’s suspended in the air, the whole world suddenly paused as she lives in this moment, this perfect apex.

_“Look, it’s the Cobalt Spider!”_

Her whole world swings back into motion then, as she starts to fall from her swing at the shout from a window. Vriska shoots out a web again, attaching it to some ugly gargoyle and continuing her forward momentum.

_Is it really that hard to check a social media page? I set it up for a reason?_

_You know, why do they always say Cobalt? Why not Tangerine? Tang? Orange_ **_is_ ** _a part of my-_

It’s then that Vriska feels a pressure below her ears, one that’s telling her to dodge the taxi that’s currently flying at her head, and to _stop thinking about a social media page._

She does, breaking the current web at aiming at a building, seeking to thrust herself forward and dodge the upward arc of the car. Vriska lands on a flag, crossing her ankles and standing, looking for whatever, or _whoever_ , threw the taxi.

The car chucker rises up from the ground then, a swirl of blue, the smell of salt.

“Hydro-man! Why the _hell_ are you chucking taxis during rush hour? People can’t all be small-time schmucks; some of them _do_ have jobs!” Vriska raises her hand to her mouth, calling out to the swirling mass.

The water vaguely forms a face, a horrid attempt at something humanlike, and speaks, like someone yelling underwater.

“Spiders… can’t swim.” 

Vriska rolls her eyes underneath her mask at this, before bouncing once, twice on the flag and launching herself off, dodging a cannon of water in the nick of time. She lands on the building opposite to her, feet pressed firmly into the wall and hands on her hips, eyes looking for her quick escape out. 

Vriska dodges another one of the water cannons and leaps towards an electrical pole, holding onto it and calling out to Hydro-man again.

“I’d _love,_ seriously _love_ to stay and play in the pool with you all day, but I am, unfortunately, one of those hard working people with a job, so we’ll have to cut playtime short for now!” Spinneret gives a salute with one hand before pushing off the electrical pole, just as Hydro-man smashes his “hands” into the ground before grabbing the electrical pole she was formerly standing on, ripping it out of the ground, alongside the wires.

Hydro-mans form immediately jerks, the form destabilizing and sinking back down into a puddle with a shriek. Vriska swings onto a balcony, perches and waits, watching. After a few minutes of no movement, no sound except the water swirling into the drain, Vriska reaches out with her senses.

All clear.

Vriska then checks her phone, sucking in a breath at the time.

And she’s _definitely_ late for work.

She launches herself at that moment, speeding towards her work, the most popular newspaper in New York: The Daily Bugle. She lands, perfectly balanced, on the roof and quickly begins ripping off her suit, descending down the stairs as she does so.

It’s moments like this that Vriska is infinitely grateful for her improved balance. She ducks into a bathroom, grabbing her civilian clothes from her backpack. Finally, she ties her hair into a ponytail and swings into her office, one backpack strap slung over her shoulder. 

Her boss's voice immediately barks out from his office, something about how that’s the third time this week she’s been late, what the hell is she doing, this damn _younger_ generation, blah blah. Vriska gives a mock salute and slides into her news room  
  


Vriska buries her head in her arms at her desk, wondering how she looks right now. Probably like a vaguely wet mass of hair, in a beat up hoodie. She groans, and scratches her head.

 _Boss is pissed at me for saving the city. Gonna get chewed out later by my landlord for my late rent. Today is_ **_fucking_ ** _great._

“Hey, Serket.” The voice is familiar. Vriska snaps her head up as someone places a cup of coffee in front of her. Vriska follows the arm and scowls slightly at the person attached to it. Shades, neatly parted and styled hair, button down and a perfectly straight tie, Dave Strider is almost the complete opposite of her.

“Hey, Strider.” Dave grins at the tone of her voice and moves behind her, sitting next to her at his desk. Vriska holds the coffee close to her and leans back in her chair, staring down at it. Her name is misspelt on it. 

Dave spins his chair slightly so that he’s facing her, leaning on one arm of it and looking at her.

“Did you slip in the shower or something?” Dave presses his fist into his cheek, upper body braced against the chair arm. He sounds _somewhat_ concerned, but his general apathy is still there. 

“Huh?” Vriska sips her drink, shrugging automatically. She almost always does that when the topic of Spinneret comes up.

_Yeah, totally, if you define a shower as a two storey tall water monster._

“You have a bruise on your temple, and you were soaked when you came in today. I just sorta assumed.” Dave rotates his chair from side to side, eyes hidden by those ever present shades.

“Oh, haha, yeah. Totally some bad luck.” Vriska offers a sheepish smile, before setting down her coffee and starting up her laptop.

“The coffee made it a little better though. Thanks.” Vriska isn’t looking at him when she speaks, as her laptop goes through it’s boot-up process. Dave spins back around to face his desk, hand reaching for a pencil. 

She can hear the scratching of the pencil against paper, and she slumps back into her seat, nursing the coffee while she reads through emails, wades through articles and tries to cobble together an article about the latest vigilante news.

Because, of course, she can’t just live that life: she has to write about it too. Vriska sighs, and runs her hand through her bangs, before resting it on the top of her head and reading an article published yesterday.

**_VIGILANTE OR VILLAIN?_ **

By Dave Strider, Daily Bugle.

_Spinneret, or more commonly known as The Cobalt Spider, was seen on 31st St & 8th Avenue yesterday, battling against The Prowler, known petty criminal. This, in itself, isn’t the major problem: the major problem is the fact that in the middle of their scuffle, 21 people were injured and over $50,000 in damage was caused to the infrastructure of the city. This isn’t even counting the unknown damage that was caused to civilian homes, property, or even in medical bills for those injured. _

_This begs the question: is having a masked vigilante causing chaos in the city really the best option? What separates them from the villains they’re fighting against? Is it the claim that Spinneret is a saviour really believable when stacked against…_

Vriska stops reading then, shooting a glance over to Dave himself, who’s currently chatting to one of their coworkers behind them, leaning far back in his chair. His leg is bouncing to a rhythm only he seems to hear, and his hands fidgeting with a short, stubby pencil. Their other coworker is leaning over and holding a stack of files, seemingly asking him questions about them?

Vriska huffs and turns back to her work.

_Whatever his problem is, he can work it out himself._

Sure, okay, maybe she could have been a little more focused on preventing damage to the city, but no matter how it boils down, she’s _saving_ people. If she had let the Prowler run free, he definitely would have racked up more damage to the city than her.

Right? Right.

Her hands are moving across the keyboard now, faster than usual as she begins typing up an response, no, _an argument_ to Dave’s piece. Of course, she’s not going to call him out directly.

No, their little arguments have always been precisely aimed snipes at each other, without naming names as to avoid any problems at work. If they directly started fighting, there would definitely be some problems with the higher ups, especially their boss.

So, instead, they dance around each others names, playing some long-winded, never ending game of _Guess Who?_ Vriska pauses, her fingers still.

Vriska could always just _ask_ him. Ask him what his deal is, and finally end the stupid game.

_But then you’ll both be out of a job._

Her teeth finally break the thin skin of her lip, which she didn’t even realize that she was chewing, and it snaps her out of her thoughts. Vriska scans her article, once, twice-

“Hey, Serket.”

Her head snaps around to look at Dave, and her other coworker, both of whom are looking at her. Vriska presses her lips into a tight smile, to avoid blood running down her chin. The least she needs to do is work while bruised, soaking wet and then _bleeding._ Her voice comes out a little strained.

“What’s up?”

“We were gonna go grab lunch, you up for it?” Dave uses the pencil to motion back and forth between him and the coworker. Vriska turns back around and waves him off.

“Nah, I got some more work to catch up on. Maybe later.”

Vriska barely hears them get up and leave, focusing instead on finishing her article.

**_SPINNERET STRIKES_ **

Vriska Serket, Daily Bugle.

_Fan-favorite vigilante Spinneret strikes again, with the wallcrawler being seen fighting with the elusive Hydro-Man this morning on 21st Avenue. With much fanfare, she struck down the waterlogged monster and sent him spinning back into the depths of the sewers. Whilst minor damage occurred with the destruction of an electrical pole, the majority of the damage was caused by Hydro-Man throwing taxis and blasting water in an attempt to drown our daredevil._

_Comments chronicling the fight have already begun to pop up all over social media, with the current trending tag of_ **_#SpinneretStrikes_ ** _showing off video footage of the fight, as well as photos of the webbed hero in action. See some of the hottest posts below, and make sure to check back at the Bugle for breaking news updates!_

Vriska rolls her neck slightly, checking over the blurb, making sure that the links work, and then finally publishing it, leaning back in her chair.

_That sucks._

Vriska closes her eyes and rubs her temples, wincing as she touches the bruise.

_I did, however, get powerwashed by a monster this morning. Maybe I should cut myself some slack._

Once again, a voice calls out to her, but this time, it’s high-pitched.

 **Significantly** high pitched.

“Vriskers!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> introducing some new characters!  
> as always, thank you to crypt for helping me design and worldbuild <3

There’s a pair of warm arms wrapping around her, the smell of mint flooding into the air. Vriska feels herself smile, actually  _ smile  _ for the first time today, but she quickly fights it down. Vriska leans back from the warm arms, looking at her assailant.

Green eyes blink a few times, a permanent smile stuck on the face of one of her coworkers, Nepeta Leijon. Nepeta bounces in place slightly, her hands behind her back and eyes  _ sparkling  _ with excitement.

“What’s up, Leijon?”

“What’s up?! What’s up?! Did you see on the news? Spinneret was spotted fighting the bad guys-” Nepeta air boxes for a few seconds her, swaying back and forth.

“-And she looked so cool!” The younger girl clasps her arms in front of her and practically squeals. Vriska feels a warmth blossom in her chest, an appreciation that she could never express properly.

“Oh, yeah, I got caught up in it today. Totally ruined my morning commute.” Vriska waves her hand through the air, before Nepeta gasps and grabs Vriska’s hand, leaning in so close that their noses were practically touching.

“Really?! You gotta tell me all about it! Did she swoop? Dive? What do her webs look like?” Nepeta  _ immediately  _ launches into a huge waterfall of questions, her voice getting faster and faster as Nepeta gets more and more excited. Vriska laughs, and pulls her hand out of the grasp.

“Okay, okay, I’ll give you an exclusive scoop… if you eat lunch with me.”

Nepeta practically trips over herself, and races back, lunch in hand, just as Vriska is getting up from her chair, wallet in hand.

“Alright, let’s bounce Leijon.”

It’s when they’re sitting at a table, tucked away in a little cafe that Vriska clears her throat, half of her bagel already wolfed down, and Nepeta’s chewing on an suspiciously raw-looking piece of meat.

“Is that… like… cooked?” Vriska stares at the piece of meat, before looking up at Nepeta, who stares back at her with childlike surprise on her face. Nepeta finishes chewing and pouts, crossing her arms.

“Of course! It’s a new diet I’m trying. If you totally load up on meat, it makes you consume more calories. I think?” Nepeta tilts her head at the end of her sentence, putting finger to her cheek.

“Uh huh.” Vriska nods. “Anyway, so, about this morning.”

Vriska then launches into a recount of the fight, abit with some details changed in order to maintain her story of being a bystander. Nepeta, for her credit, hangs onto to every word, only opening her phone at the end of the convo to quickly type something.

“Spinneret should totally team up with someone, like, it’s way too hard for her to be doing all this stuff on her own. Plus-” There’s a small squeal here from Nepeta.

“Can you imagine having a superhero couple swinging around New York? Sooo cute!!” Vriska sucks her coffee through her straw a little  _ too fast _ , coughing and banging her fist against her knee.

“I dunno. Like, I think Spinneret is more of a solo-player…” Vriska trails off, choosing to look out the window.

_ This is such an awkward conversation. _

“But superhero couples are so cute! Have you seen those couple costumes on Halloween? O-M-G, what if they release Spinneret costumes this year?” Nepeta clasps her hands to her cheeks and taps her feet, her eyes screwed shut in pure bliss at the thought.

“You should dress up as her this year, Leijon.” Vriska holds the top of her coffee and swirls it, waiting for it to combine again.

“Only if you match with me!” Nepeta winks, and Vriska laughs, shaking her head at Leijon’s antics. A comfortable silence falls over them, as Nepeta taps away at her phone and Vriska just enjoys the peace, the quiet murmur of the cafe almost putting her asleep.

_ I deserve this. _

“So, are you and Dave doing anything this weekend?” Nepeta doesn’t take her eyes off her phone as Vriska snaps her eyes open, straightening and sitting up.

“Sorry? Who said I was hanging out with that guy?” Nepeta widens her eyes and makes her mouth into a thin line, looking away from Vriska.

“Oh. He didn’t ask.” Nepeta’s voice comes out very low. She’s still not looking at Vriska, but does when Vriska finally snaps for her attention.

Vriska makes an exaggerated  _ go on  _ motion, her brain already trying to race through the possibilities of what the hell  _ Dave  _ needs from her.

“He was, just, like, talking to our coworkers about going out for the drinks and someone asked him, ‘Hey, are you gonna bring Vriska?’ and Dave was like, course I am, duh?” Nepeta lowers her voice when speaking as Dave, the words rushing out of her like a waterfall. Vriska blinks, before crossing her arms.

“Ugh, as if. I wouldn’t be caught dead hanging out with that guy. He’s such an insufferable prick.” Vriska makes mock-talking motions with her hands, tilting her head back and forth.

“Oh, look at me, I’m Dave Strider. I’m soooo cool with my pressed suits, stupid fucking sunglasses I never take off and shitty articles. How will I try and slander the name of a superhero that’s trying to save innocent people today? Bluh bluh!” Vriska then sticks out her tongue, making a disgusting face. 

Nepeta giggles, covering her mouth with her hands. Vriska grins, but inside she’s still fuming. The guy has the audacity to try and ask  _ her  _ out for drinks after he published that article? Hell to the fucking no.

_ I mean, to be fair, he doesn’t know you’re Spinneret.  _ A little voice speaks in the back of her brain, but Vriska silences it.

Vriska crumples her trash in front of her, and slides out of their booth, standing and stretching.

“Well, whatever. Fuck that guy. Let’s go back.” Nepeta groans, leaning her phone against her upper lip and giving Vriska some puppy dog eyes. But Nep does get up and follows her back to the office, across the busy streets and up the crowded stairwells.

Vriska waves her goodbye and walks back to her desk, sitting down in her chair with an unceremonious  _ oomph. _

But, she’s right back where she started now. Her article sucks ass and her boss is still  _ totally _ pissed at her. Vriska cracks her knuckles at her desk, shaking one of her hands out before she stiffens at the sound of sirens outside.

The wallcrawler takes a deep breath, closing her eyes and extending out her senses, searching for something worse than a petty thief, or a traffic accident.

_ Nothing. _

Vriska opens her eyes again, feeling a blaze of inspiration strike through her. There’s a reason why she doesn’t go after every threat the city coughs up, and that’s what her next article is going to be about.

**_SPINNING A WEB_ **

Vriska Serket, Daily Bugle.

There’s many things that Spinneret can be called. A hero, a menace, a mutant. Above all else, Spinneret has been striking waves across all of New York for almost a month now, with the masked hero being seen fighting anything from water monsters, to crazed gunman, to even electrical workers gone crazy, as seen with their fight with Shocker three weeks ago. Spinneret is always there, for whatever the situation calls.

And especially when the situation can’t be handled by the regular folks of New York. Instead of forcing the populace, and those hard-working boys in blue, to suffer through fights, abuse and torment at the hands of crazed maniacs hellbent on destroying the city with all sorts of powers, like literal  _ control over the elements _ , Spinneret steps in and takes the brunt of their beatings, slamming those villains right back into the Raft whenever they get the chance.

Without people, without  _ heroes  _ like Spinneret, New York is a mere plaything in the palm of these powerhouses. Whether New York likes it or not, they  _ need  _ people like Spinneret to toe the line, and stand as a shield for those that couldn’t ever think of rising up, or even wouldn’t be able to rise up to defeat something they shouldn’t  _ ever  _ have to face.

Spinneret is rising up to become a symbol for New York. A little sloppy, and a little busted at certain times, but standing tall, representing the place that they are protecting within the best of their abilities. 

Vriska slams the publish button on that too. It’s definitely more  _ opinion  _ based than a lot of her articles, but… it’s also a lot more realistic to how Vriska feels. And how she feels when she looks at people like Nepeta, who idolize these heroes, and see them for what they’re really trying to be.

_ Or, at least, that’s kind of some fancy bullshit way of justifying this article.  _ Vriska scratches her head and shuts her laptop, just as a  _ familiar  _ face sits down next to her.

“Sup, Serket.” Dave gives a half-wave, turned to her again. Vriska narrows her eyes, and resists the urge to be like  _ what the hell man?  _ She’ll wait, and see what cards he has to play first. The suns setting behind him, and it’s framing everything in a soft, rosy glow. Vriska doesn’t say anything, just leans back in her chair, arms crossed and tilts her head at his greeting.

Dave coughs, and then speaks. Vriska can practically feel his blood pressure rising from here.

“So, uh, some of the other people in the office- if you can all this freeform open concept bullshit an office, are getting together to go drinking tonight. Did you wanna grab a round with us?” Dave makes quotation marks with his fingers at  _ freeform open concept bullshit _ and Vriska fights down the urge to at least smile at it.

“No, I actually have plans. Plus, y’know, being the backbone of this paper is  _ tiring  _ as hell.” Vriska gives a small, sarcastic smile at the end of it, more a smirk than anything. Dave pauses, and then laughs.

“Damn, Serket, I’ll send you to my chiropractor if this is  _ such  _ a strain for you. Didn’t know that being second place was so crushing.” He emphasises crushing, and Vriska rolls her eyes.

“Is your perspective  _ that  _ warped from being in third place, Strider? Maybe you need to get those stupid, totally uncool shades checked.” Vriska enjoys this, way more than the care he tried to show this morning.  _ This  _ was definitely more their style.

“So, okay, if I’m in third, and you’re so  _ obviously  _ in second, who’s in first?” Dave fiddles with a pencil again.

“Nepeta. Duh. She absolutely shreds it in the office as a social media intern.”

“Slash secretary.” Dave continues the sentence.

“Slash mascot.” Vriska does too.

Dave chuckles and reaches for his bag, standing.

“Well, you should tell me when you’re not busy, so we can go out sometime.”

“We? Like, you and I? Strider, I never knew you had such feelings for me.” Dave’s shoulders raise slightly, and Vriska pauses, a gleeful smirk on her face. Dave rolls his eyes, or at least she thinks he does.

Fucking shades.

“Yeah, definitely. No, obviously, I meant with the whole office, Serket. I know you want a piece of this- I mean, who doesn’t? But chill.” Dave fans himself and then shrugs his bag on before walking past her, effectively ending the conversation.

Vriska finally relaxes, the silence of the emptying office slowly surrounding her. She didn’t  _ really  _ have a reason to turn him down, she was just really pissed about his articles. Not Dave himself.

But she can’t even really explain that to him without being like  _ hey, so, I’m actually the superhero you keep constantly trashing, please don’t tell anyone, thanks! _

Yeah, no fucking way.

Vriska walks through the hallway, and then up the stairs, aiming to get to one of the upper floors washrooms. She pushes open a stall, and then drops her bag on the floor. There’s a few ruffles of clothes, a small  _ fuck  _ uttered as she steps into a slightly damp spidersuit and eventually, Vriska walks out of the stall, staring at herself in the mirror.

It’s still weird, to see yourself dressed in something that definitely looks like a Halloween costume. Vriska reaches up above her, tying her hair into a bun, which just ends up looking like some weird, half vanilla, half chocolate ice cream cone.

She briefly wonders if the whole hair changing from blonde to brown was part of the DNA restructuring she went through after she got bit in that dingy subway. 

Which, also reminds her that she hasn’t taken the subway in like, a month. She briefly wonders if she still has any fare left on her pass, and then shakes those thoughts out of her head.

Finally, Vriska presses her actual mask onto her eyes, making a few expressions in the mirror to seal it. She then flips her blue hood up, completing the look. She jiggles the “locked” bathroom window and slips out of the building, pressing her hands to the wall so she stays stuck.

The city air wafts over her, cool and utterly uninviting to tourists, normal people and most animals. But Vriska feels a smile crack across her face and she leaps, enjoying the feeling of the wind rushing past her.

She swings at the last possible second, feeling the top of the cars below her brush against the tips of her feet, and soars, letting the momentum carry her as far as it’ll go before she shoots out another web.

Spinneret makes it a few blocks before a thrum at the base of her skulls warns her about impending danger.

The bullet that shoots through one of her webs is just another, faster reminder.

Vriska lets out a leap and quickly shoots out another web, swinging herself onto the roof of a building. Her eyes scan the rooftops, searching for some unseen threat, a sniper, bow,  _ anything _ .

But, she doesn’t need to search, actually, because her adversary calls out to her right away.

“Tallyho, my good spideress!” There’s a glint of a sniper scope reflecting off the lights of the city, and Vriska almost groans when she gets a good look at her foe. 

_ Who the fuck is this guy, and why does he dress like some weird Aussie? _

“Pardon my ghastly greeting, but I simply needed to get your attention somehow.” Vriska sees the scope move and extends out her spidersense, her whole body tense. She dodges the bullet this time, a spray of concrete on her left being the only signal that it missed.

Vriska braces herself and takes a running leap off the building, calling out.

“If you want a girls attention-” 

Vriska shoots out a web and swings, letting go quickly so she can arc herself high in the sky. She shoots out another web, grabbing the sniper rifle out of his hands and throwing it behind her, before landing on the same roof as the crackshot.

“All you have to do is ask.” Vriska settles back into a fighting pose, spreading her senses.

But she freezes, when her sense pings off from all directions.

_ That wasn’t his only gun.  _ Her eyes adjust and Vriska feels a drop of sweat roll down the side of her temple. The roof is actually covered in them, from pistols, to rifles, to launchers and even some older items, like a blowdart.

Vriska swallows, and starts scanning her area. Guns were, well, in general- guns are bad. But usually, Vriska can dodge them, as most humans can’t react at the same speed she can. This guy, however,  _ definitely  _ can. He places both his hands by his thighs, as if he’s in some old Western and is about to draw.

Vriska raises her hands into a  _ don’t shoot  _ signal.

“And, of course, you have my attention. I can’t imagine that you want to settle this over a cup of tea or anything-” Vriska’s reflexes kick in and she bends backwards to dodge another bullet, as her opponent has decided to draw. Spinneret uses the momentum to shift into a backwards hand spring, landing on the edge of the roof now.

“Why, I would love to have some tea! However, unfortunately, I’m here on some business. No time to chew the fat.” He fires off two more shots now, and Vriska just cartwheels out of the way, feeling one of the bullets rush past her leg.

_ He’s getting faster. _

“Oh yeah? And what business does an obviously  _ upstanding  _ aristocrat like you have in  _ New York _ ?” Vriska’s still frantically looking for a quick way out of this, hopefully one that ends with no bullet holes in her, so she better keep him talking and distracted. 

“I’m here to hunt the biggest game in New York, a so-called Spiderwoman.” He fires off two more shots, before spinning the guns and slamming them back into his thigh holsters. Vriska waits, shifting her weight to the front of her feet, a plan brewing if she’s lucky.

And she’s often lucky. 

“Shit, will I at least get stuffed and put above your mantle? I would  _ not  _ look good as a rug in uh… your estate.” Vriska keeps waiting, her whole body ready as soon as he makes a move.

“No, no, sadly, I won’t be able to take you back to the Cairo Estate, someone else actually requested me to bring you in for a  _ sizable  _ reward. And what is a hunter, if not one who hunts for spoils?” Cairo, as Vriska names him, finally moves, a quick lunge to the right, hands reaching for a gun. Vriska immediately fires a web at his foot, locking him in place and leaping at him.

Cairo slams himself into the rooftop with help from her webs, and Vriska presses her knee into his chest, glaring down at him.

“Who?” Her tone is clipped.

“Have I gotten the wrong dame? I wasn’t aware I was tangling with an Owl-” Cairo’s sentence cuts off into a wheeze as Vriska presses into his chest harder.

“Cut the shit. If you’re going to crack wise, I’m going to crack some of your ribs. Who sent you?” Vriska lifts some of her weight off, and waits.

Cairo wiggles, his monocle now displaced and laying beside him, adventurer's hat knocked off somewhere. One of his hands is beside him, but the other…

Vriska rolls off him just as he fires something into the ground, an explosion of smoke surrounding her. Her head is starting to hurt from the strain her senses are putting her through tonight.

“Alas, I cannot say. We’ll meet soon again, my Spiderdear.” Cairo’s voice comes from her left and Vriska shoots out a web, hoping she can pull herself towards this dude and introduce him to his next blind date: her foot. But her web doesn’t catch to anything, and Vriska groans.

_ FUCK. _

The smoke is starting to settle, at least. Vriska can hear sirens heading towards her direction too. She briefly wonders if that’s because of the smoke or the shots, and then decides she really doesn’t care. Or need to know.

Spinneret leaps off the building, speeding towards her apartment as fast as her webs will carry her. She practically crashes into her roof, stumbling a little and finally meandering down to her apartment.

Vriska closes the door behind her and presses herself against it, before her brain finally reminds her.

_ You just walked through your building with your costume on. _

_ Oh shit. _

At least the voices are starting to sound different now. Vriska rips off her mask, and rubs her forehead. Cairo, Cairo, Cairo. That’s all she has to go off on this guy. Her body goes into autopilot, stripping off her costume and dumping it on the floor. Her bag follows that and Vriska slumps onto her couch.

She’s tired.

Really, really tired.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> little tiny in between chapter! showing off some of the side characters and different povs!

Dave stares down into his glass, the top of the beer already dissolving into the rest of it, a small pocket of silence at the rowdy bar. He sips it, holding his phone in the other hand, a text waiting to be sent on it. He keeps staring at it, fingers hovering over the  _ Send  _ button before someone bumps into him, sending his thumb down and sending the message. Dave whips his head around, about to diss the person who bumped into him, but she’s already apologizing.

“Omigosh, I’m so sorry sorry Dave.” It’s Nepeta, her big eyes full of concern. Dave loosens up, and shrugs.

“It’s no big deal, Nep. Sorry for whipping around like some pissed off snake.” Nepeta does a little hop into the seat next to him, over-spinning around to face him before she corrects it. She sets her drink down, something blue and very sweet, Dave assumes. Nepeta closes her eyes and leans against the counter of the bar, humming.

“Dave, are you being super mopey and emo over here about Vriskers?” Dave lifts his shoulders again, slipping his phone back into his pocket. He takes a big gulp of his drink before responding, stalling for time.

“Nah, more like how the hell this bar gets away with charging $8 for beer? Like, what the hell? Could probably start my brewing company for cheaper than that.” Nepeta laughs, and Dave grins slightly.

“Daaaaaave, you should just tell her you like her already! Listen to the looooove expert.” Nepeta is still giggly, and Dave shakes his head.

“Did I ever say that I liked her? C’mon, Nep, you’ve had a little too much to drink.” Nepeta indignantly shakes her head, pointing at him now with a determined expression. Dave leans back slightly, putting his hands up in a  _ don’t shoot _ .

“Of course you like her! I see the coffees you bring her! The way you look at her. I tried to get her to agree to coming out tonight because I  _ know  _ it would be so cute! But noooooo, she just has to crash my hopes and dreams.” Nepeta groans, and slams her head into her hands. She sounds so destroyed.

“Okay, okay, maybe. Maybe I have a slightly  _ interest _ \- not a crush, on Vris.” Dave relents his defense, and Nepeta gets so close to him that their noses are practically touching.

“See! I am right!! Now, let’s devise a plan…” Dave takes another large drink, finishing it and ordering another. Tonight is going to be a long night, if the notebook paper and graphs that Nepeta is drawing mean anything.

~

Kanaya Maryam is a collected person. She makes note of everything, and makes sure that everything in her life is planned, organized and nudged into the right direction, one that makes sense. Her apartment is spotless, her clothes unstained, and her life is perfectly normal, a good, constant cycle that leaves her in a better position than last month.

But there’s some things that can throw it out of whack.

And for some reason, a good 60% of them seem to involve her ex-girlfriend, Vriska Serket. 

Tonight is no exception, and Kanaya pauses, at the end of her hallway, staring as one of the city’s numerous superheroes stumbles into her ex-girlfriends apartment. Kanaya tilts her head, a flurry of emotions going through her head.

_ I Didn’t Know She Started Dating Again. _

_ Should I Ask? When? Why? _

_ Is It Important To Me?  _

Kanaya finally moves, walking through her apartment door and locking it behind her. She leans against it, staring at her apartment. Green, full of plants and projects, things that fulfill her. She wants, urgently, to throw herself into them, but she knows she’s too chaotic, too out of tilt, to do anything right now regarding her interests.

Her cat meows at her from the windowsill. Well, it’s not her cat. It’s actually just a stray that used to hang around her former favorite bookshelf. So, effectively, she’s the cat’s babysitter. It’s only half her cat. Kanaya crouches down, dusting her skirt off and holds out her arms to the cat.

It slips down from it’s window, sauntering over to her and rubbing itself against her legs. Kanaya absentmindedly pets it, before picking it up and holding it against her shoulder, like a baby. She keeps petting it as she stands up, walking to her kitchen.

Routine, organization, repetition.

These are some of the things that guide Kanaya. She sets the cat down, before reaching for her kettle. Kanaya begins brewing a pot of tea, tucking a stray curl behind her ear. One of them always seems to escape her when she’s doing her hair in the morning.

The cat rubs against her legs, and Kanaya waits, watching the kettle begin to bubble on her stove.

She wants to go ask Vriska, almost right now, and wonder. She wants to meddle, not because she’s not over Vriska, but because she’s curious. Worried, even

_ Vriska Does Have A Habit Of Rushing Into Things. _

Kanaya sighs, and pulls out her phone. She composes a quick text message, one that she  _ knows  _ will be ignored until Vriska rolls out of bed the next morning, and sends it, closing her eyes.

Kanaya places her tea bag into the cup, then pours the hot water and stirs it, allowing it to seep. A part of her relaxes, unwinds, as she goes through these motions.

She hopes the rest of her will follow suit, at least before 9:30. She needs to sleep before work.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the late upd8! i got busy with some stuff.

Vriska snaps her eyes open, immediately feeling her back yell in protest of her sleeping position. She stretches, feeling her spine re-align and her leg muscles comfortably push. She sits up, finally, rubbing her head and feeling the warmth of the morning sun on her back. It’s quiet, gentle, peaceful.

Vriska makes her way to her bathroom, then her kitchen, starting her coffee machine while she’s brushing her teeth. She reaches for her back pocket, realizes that she actually doesn’t _have_ a back pocket right now, and then looks over for her phone. It’s not on her coffee table.

She walks over and looks closer, eventually crouching and sticking her hand underneath her couch, fumbling for it until she feels the edge of it, dragging it out. The _NO POWER_ sign flashes on it as she tries to turn it on, and she sighs.

The phone drops onto her charging pad with a _thunk_ and Vriska spits out the toothpaste in her kitchen sink, rinsing out the brush after. Her hands brush against a doorframe as she wanders into her room, tracing over a mark she left in the paint one night when she was painting her room.

It’s a deep blue, save except for stars stuck all over her ceiling. New York only has helicopters dotting it’s landscape, so Vriska had to improvise if she ever wanted to see some celestial bodies. Her curtains are thrown open, clothes litter the floor and her desk sort of looks like an abandoned autobody shop.

There’s a half assembled webshooter on the same desk, with some minor, if risky modifications added to it. Vriska screws her face up at it, letting out a huff and turning away, rummaging through her closet.

But she can feel the webshooter. Sitting there. Mocking her.

So what if she can seem to find a way to improve it reliably? So what if it always breaks every third or fourth time she uses it?

_Guess New York will have to settle for this basic bitch._

Vriska tugs a crewneck over her head, finally tugging her hair out of her bun and letting the very tangled strands fall down. That’s a later Vriska problem. She hears her coffee machine ding, and hurries towards it, craving the sweet caffeine hit.

And sweet it is, as she sips the coffee at her kitchen counter. She’s sitting on it, tapping her feet against the cupboard, waiting and watching her phone. It finally lights up, going through the start up process.

_I mean, not like I get texts anyways but._

Her phone then dings twice, with two text notifications showing on the lock screen. Vriska reads them-

**dave s.**

hey serket, just informing you that you’re missing a totally fucking...

**kanaya m. (don’t text)**

I Know It Might Be Rude Of Me To Inquire About Your Private Romantic…

And drops the phone back onto the pad and lets her mind race for a few minutes, feeling her heart pound in her chest. Dave didn’t really matter, it was probably some stupid text about how lame she was for not coming out last night, but _Kanaya?_

They haven’t talked since Vriska ended things like three months ago. Which, also, was over text, much to Vriska’s embarrassment. And now she’s suddenly asking about Vriska’s personal, _romantic_ life? It’s definitely not about getting back together, Kanaya isn’t the type of person to do that.

And besides, Vriska wouldn’t want her to go through that again.

_Yeah, I was a really shitty girlfriend._

_..._

_That’s really pathetic._

Vriska groans, and ruffles her hair up, deciding that she’d rather tangle with her hair than the complicated process of responding to her ex-girlfriend. As she’s brushing her hair, she at least opens Strider’s message.

> **dave s.**
> 
> hey serket just informing you that holy shit
> 
> you’re missing a totally fucking baller office party
> 
> calling it an office party makes it seem like way lamer than it is but i promise you that the shit is flying off the handle at this weird hipster bar
> 
> we might do another one next week, next friday
> 
> clear your motherfucking schedule because nepeta is totally bugging the shit out of me to make sure that you come and spend all of your money on these shitty 8 dollar beers and try some of her weird fruit gusher drink that costs way too much for me to even price it out

Vriska giggles at his message, tying her hair off into another bun before she finally responds to him, probably way too early for him to be awake but it’s a response, she’s not just leaving his messages to rot in the void.

> **vriska s.**
> 
> I can’t 8elieve that you drunk-texted me at 11 PM.
> 
> O8sessed with me much????????  
> 8ut aaaaaaaanyway, I guess that I can try and find some time to hang out with you and watch you make an utter fucking idiot of yourself while you’re drunk.
> 
> ;;;;P

Finally, as she’s sitting on her couch in an awful way, sitting on the back of it while her feet are pressed into the cushions and where she should _actually_ be sitting, she opens up Kanaya’s message.

> **kanaya m. (don’t text)**
> 
> I Know It Might Be Rude Of Me To Inquire About Your Private Romantic Life
> 
> However I Am Simply Curious As I Believe That I Saw Someone Strange Enter Your Apartment Last Night
> 
> Is Everything Okay

Vriska lets out a strangled sort of noise, probably close to a muffled scream and _fuck_ and feels herself tipping off the back of her couch. She crashes to the ground with a bang, and feels her phone skitter out of her hand. 

_Spider sense my ass._

Vriska fumbles, still on her back, for the phone and then grabs it, bringing it close to her face and quickly sending a response back.

> **vriska s.**
> 
> It’s f8ne!
> 
> Everyth8ng is so fucking fine!!!!!!!!
> 
> I’m totally good and gr8 and fine! Nothing weird is h8ppening!!!!!!!!
> 
> No need to worry a8out costumed str8ngers entering my h8use!
> 
> And I don’t need your meddling and fussing over my shit!

Vriska groans and smacks her phone to her chest, rubbing her forehead. The tactlessness of her and Kanaya’s relationship was never more evident than the times that they interacted. Kanaya, despite everything, despite the breakup and the subsequent ghosting that Vriska subjected her too, seemed to still want to make sure everything was okay.

_But enough fussing, and meddling and prodding!_

_Especially when it comes to my_ **_fucking secret identity!_ **

Vriska sits up, thoughts racing through her head. Did anyone else see her? Is the whole schtick now blown, and everyone in goddamn New York now knows that Spinneret is some skinny rando that works at a _newspaper?_

Her phone pings, and she doesn’t even want to look at it. Her stomach feels sick, like the bottom of it has given way and now there’s just a bottomless pit. Vriska stares up at her ceiling, which has been slowly darkening.

She woke up later than she thought, it’s almost night. Vriska finally rightens herself and then stands up, before something knocks into her window, causing her to jump up and whip around to look at it.

There’s a flash of purple, and Vriska groans.

_This guy._

She kicks on her flip flops, grabs her webshooters from her discarded costume on the ground, and sticks her head into the apartment hallway, scanning for someone.

_Kanaya?_

Vriska curses herself and finally steps into the hallway when she confirms that the coast is indeed clear. She takes the steps up to the roof two at a time, feeling the cold of the night air brush against her legs. Vriska fidgets with her phone case, picking at the side of it before she swings open the door to the roof.

“What do you want, Dr. Delirious?” Vriska calls out to the figure that’s currently floating above the building. He scoffs, lowering himself closer to her, but still retaining the floating. He’s just a few inches off the ground now.

“It’s Dr. Deviation, thanks.” The good doctor crosses his arms in front of her, purple cape flapping in the wind. Vriska eyes his striped pants, raising an eyebrow.

“Stripes are supposed to be slimming right? Is all that fucking floating causing you to gain weight from your utter lack of movement, Eridan?” Vriska gives a sharp-toothed smile. Eridan’s face heats up in the cool night, his mouth practically curling into a snarl. He runs a hand through his hair, and then relaxes.

Briefly.

“Don’t understand why I even fuckin’ bother tryin’ to help out you amateurs anymore if all I fuckin’ get is this.” His voice catches on the w’s of the words, even as he talks faster and faster with anger. Vriska shrugs and then checks her phone.

**dave s.**

what hey

i did not get shitfaced last night i was smooth…

“Anyway, I’m here to tell you that shit is about to hit the fan.” Eridan pulls out a wand at this point and Vriska quirks an eyebrow.

“And why the hell am I supposed to care about what you say? You’re a dude standing on my roof, in striped pants and in a fucking cape. I really don’t know if we can be trusting you as the guy that knows when the shit is going to hit.”

Eridan draws a circle in front of him then with the wand, firing a small bolt at Vriska, who dodges it and glares at him

“Look, Vris, we can keep tradin' shitty insult after shitty insult but unlike your eight-legged ass, I actually do have some abilities past the generic ‘oh look at me with my enhancements blah blah’ bullshit.” Vriska feels her blood pressure spiking but stays quiet, mirroring him and crossing her arms.

He finally continues.

“I can’t tell you exactly what, but something big is comin’ to the city. Earth-shatterin’, city levelling levels of big.” Eridan draws another circle, opening a circle that only has glyphs from Vriska’s side. Vriska throws her arms open then finally, her expression gone from _dislike_ to _detest._

“What the fuck do you mean you can’t tell me? Because of some bullshit sorcerers code? Get the fuck out of here, Boy Wizard. Unlike your whole neutral party ass, I actually am _trying_ to help this city.” Her voice is getting louder now. Eridan looks down his nose at her, his expression one of contempt.

“I’m actually savin' the planet from threats that your _weak-ass_ couldn’t handle, _Spinneret._ ” He pronounces Spinneret with venom, with pity, and Vriska feels her blood boil. She flexes her wrists and grabs something off the roof- a garbage can she thinks, and hurls it at him. He draws a much wider circle with his wand and simply lets the garbage can pass through it, not even moving.

Vriska proceeds to grab something else and throw it at him, yelling now.

“Oh, you think you’re so _goddamn-”_ He moves as she hurls a folding chair at him, cape swishing behind him. “- _above_ me, above _us_ , because you can float and you have your rinky-dinky little fucking wand?” She breaks into a run, jumping above him and slamming another garbage can down into him. Eridan’s eyes widen for a brief second, before he simply blasts it out of the air.

Vriska suddenly feels a wave of dizziness wash over her, the realization that she hasn’t eaten for probably fourteen or so hours hitting her. She takes one step, two steps, before finally just sitting down and laying on the cold, hard roof.

“Are you done with your little temper tantrum now?” Eridan’s voice is still so _fucking_ disdainful, so arrogant. Vriska flips him the bird, and keeps her eyes closed, trying to will away the dizziness. It’s not working. 

Eridan scoffs, and finally continues.

“I can’t tell you, because you’ll just try and prevent it from happenin', and simply fuck everything up, in the way you supers do. Just keep doin' what you’re doin', but stop tryin' to half-ass everything.” Vriska snaps her eyes open and throws herself so she’s sitting up. He’s dusting his shoulder off now.

“I’m not _half-assing_ anything- I’m doing the best I can trying to manage a city full of fucked up mutants, rich guys with way too much time on their hands, whilst also trying to like, y’know- pay my rent?” Eridan looks at her, and draws a circle underneath him with his foot.

“You could be better.” He snaps, and drops down into the circle, disappearing. Vriska swears, and leans back into the ground. She finally pulls her phone out to read the full message.

> **dave s.**
> 
> what hey
> 
> i did not get shitfaced last night i was smooth sipping on so many goddamn drinks it was practically some scenic boat ride in the countryside with how smooth it was
> 
> baby smooth
> 
> but anyway thats whatever
> 
> get back to me fr if youre coming because this invite is so hot everyones reaching for one like cookies fresh out of the oven

Vriska blinks a few times, and sees another message pop up on the top of the screen. Her thumb taps it without even thinking.

> **kanaya m. (don’t text)**
> 
> I See
> 
> Im Sorry For The Fussing
> 
> I Just Worry About You
> 
> And Your
> 
> Everything That You Have Going On
> 
> Let Me Know If You Need Anything Though

“Fuck my life.” Vriska says it outloud, not to anyone in particular.

The universe, maybe.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the l8 upd8 again! got kinda busy!! small chapter with jade and rose- i love writing these two so much!

Jade wakes up as she feels the morning light fall over her, stretching in her bed and feeling all of her muscles flex at the sensation. She scratches her cheek, and winces, opening her eyes and sitting up, staring at her hands.

Her nails are longer, sharper. She’s probably got a scratch on her cheek. She huffs, and throws off her covers. Jade feels her ears twitch.

But not the ears on the side of her head. No, something definitely twitches above her. Jade takes one step, two steps, poking her head into the reflection of a mirror. Two, fluffy white ears on the top of her head flatten as she gets a look at them, matching her annoyed expression. No wonder she’s waking up so early. Jade gropes for her glasses, blinking a few times after she puts them on.

Jade wanders out from her room, stepping into her bright, plant filled apartment. She begins humming, some old cartoon theme, as she walks to her kitchen, stomach grumbling. Jade opens the fridge, grabs the orange juice before she feels her shoulders raise, a faint whisper coming from the back of her brain, a beckoning.

She turns her head, orange juice still in hand. Someone’s standing by her window, staring out at the city skyline. Jade relaxes immediately, calling out in her bright, cheerful voice.

“Hey Rose! Do you want some breakfast?” Jade shakes the orange juice, hoping the noise will draw attention.

Rose doesn’t move, just sort of sways in front of the window. Jade sets the juice down and walks over to her friend, hand reaching out to rest on Roses shoulder. The other girl is freezing to the touch, despite standing in the sun. Her eyes are closed.

“Rose, do you wanna sit at the table with me? I’ll make us some breakfast, and then we can go up and garden for a little.” Jade speaks softly, looking for movement, a smile, a nod, anything. Rose gives the barest of nods, her swaying stopping so that she’s perfectly still. Jade loops her arm around the smaller girls shoulders, leading her to the kitchen island. Jade helps Rose into a seat before moving back over to the kitchen, her ears twitching. Jade reaches out, tapping a tablet to start the morning radio.

Rose likes music.

Jade immediately sets about fixing them a breakfast, vegetarian of course. She doesn’t like eating meat anymore, not after she started sprouting ears and a tail some mornings. It felt sort of… weird. Not morally wrong, or anything, just weird.

Eggs, toast, fruit. She tries to make it healthy, making sure that Rose gets a healthy balance of everything. A plate is set in front of the silent girl, whilst Jade starts preparing her own plate. Finally, Jade sits, her shoulders brushing Roses.

“Dig in, Rose!” Jade begins munching away at her meal, watching Rose out of the corner of her eye. Rose raises a forkful of egg to her mouth, still not opening her eyes. Her actions are jerky, almost robotic, but she is eating.

Jade swallows some orange juice, continuing to hum along and chat to her friend, even if she’s only speaking to silence. Rose finishes her meal first, setting her fork down and placing her hands in her lap. Jade, finally, blissfully finishes her meal and gets up, her fluffy ears standing straight up in excitement.

Today will be good. Better than normal.

Jade nearly jumps at the noise of plates clinking together, whipping around to see Rose gathering up the plates and putting them in the sink. Jade squeezes her hands into tiny fists, a smile breaking across her face.

Today will be  _ very  _ good.

Jade quickly dresses herself, suitable for the weather. An ugly, colorful sweater, some stained jeans and her regular sneakers. She also throws her bookbag on for good measure. Rose drifts towards her own room, bumping into her door before Jade opens it for her, and poking her head into the room.

“Want some help? I can help you pick your outfit!” Rose stands in the middle of her room, not moving towards the dresser  _ or  _ the closet. Jade takes this as a  _ yes,  _ clapping her hands together in excitement _. _

Jade sets about immediately picking an outfit, something classy. Suitable for Rose. There’s a part of her that wants to drag Rose to her room and dress her in something godawful and bright, but Jade restrains that thought.

_ We can do that after Rose gets better! We have to. _

She lays the clothes out on the bed. A nice skirt, some tights, and one of the nice blouses Jade bought for Rose when they were in college together. It even has cats on the collar.

“Okay, Rose, I’m gonna be in the living room! Let me know when you’re ready.”

Jade sits, opening her phone and waiting in the living room. She has a few texts.

**John E (nerd)!!**

hey jade! i just wanted to know if we were still on... 

**Dave S (cool guy)!!**

hey harley just dropping some hot fresh info in…

She at least opens the message from John. She already knows what Dave is going to say.

**John E (nerd)!!**

hey jade! i just wanted to know if we were still on for tuesday.

I know dave has his whole thing going on this weekend? i think.

either way, just give me a shout or a call or a text or a messenger bird if you’re free!

**Jade H (me)!!**

john!! :D

i’m totally ready for us to hang out on tuesday!

rose really misses everyone and it would be great for us to hang out again!

i can’t wait to see you :D!!

Rose comes out of her room then, and Jade bounces up from the couch. She keeps that bounce all the way to the door, before she grabs Rose’s sunglasses and turns to her close friend. Jade slips the shades on Roses face before pulling her hair free, combing through the other’s blonde locks with her fingers. Rose hums a little.

Jade then unlocks the door and slips her hand into Roses, locking the door behind her and leading Rose up to the rooftop garden, hand in hand. The sun hits them and Rose immediately shrinks away, pulling slightly on Jade’s hand. Jade smiles at her friend, and gives a little tug towards a chair Jade’s set out, one that’s been here for a month or so now. Rose sits in it, just looking straight forward. Jade cocks her head to the side, and then feels the lightbulb above her light up.

“Oh, your journal! I have it in my bag, sorry Rose!” Jade places the journal on her friends lap, and sets a pen in Roses hand before turning towards her garden. She only crouches down once she hears scribbling, signifying that Rose has started in on her journal.

The time passes like that, slowly. Jade prunes, waters and weeds her garden, dragging out various seeds and mulch to replace the ones that have fully grown, and Rose continues scribbling. Jade wants, desperately, to read the journal, to see what her friend is writing so badly, but she respects her privacy!

Finally, Jade settles back, crouched but resting on the front of her feet. The sun is setting, and it’s getting colder out. She should take Rose back inside, before she catches something. The scribbling has stopped as well.

Jade takes off her messy gardening gloves and drops them on the table next to Rose, before collecting the previously mentioned journal. She catches sight of something before Rose fully shuts the journal, though. Something that makes her blood run a little colder.

_ MEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOW. _


End file.
